It “plans to frack for natural gas near three local schools and a childcare center,” according to a press release disseminated by FWW. “On June 2, the event in Erie will give voice to those immediately affected by fracking there, and to all Americans marred by the process, becoming ground zero for the national movement to expose the dangers associated with fracking.”

The action is a simple one: a “rally and vigil to protest gas industry giant Encana’s plans to frack for natural gas near Red Hawk Elementary, Erie Elementary, Erie Middle School and Exploring Minds Childcare Center and transport toxic fracking by-products on roads that come within feet of these and other community schools,” reads the FWW press release.

Erie Rising's struggle to protect children from the imminent danger of fracking is urgent. Encana wants to begin drilling by the schools early this summer, subjecting the town's children to the dangerous carcinogens that appear to have already caused so much illness.

On June 2, Erie Rising is holding a rally in opposition to the wells by the school. Erie Rising's members still have a long fight to protect their kids, but they are exposing the claim of clean natural gas as a dirty lie. It's a struggle that is paving the way for mothers across the nation to stand up and fight for their own children's future.

Hickenlooper was involved in a scandal in March of this year, appearing in a pro-fracking ad and making himself a de facto industry spokesman for the sector in which he was formerly employed. For his antics, he was called out by both the Republic Report and Think Progress. Think Progress reported,

According to FollowTheMoney.org, the oil and gas industry has also given over $150,000 to candidates on bothsides of the aisle running for seats in the Colorado House and Senate in the past two election cycles, 2010 and 2012, combined. With political circumstances such as these, it's perhaps no wonder people have stood up and decided to fight back. What other choice do they have?

“This encroachment of residential areas has really woken up a grassroots revolt of regular Coloradans who are standing up and saying don't come in my backyard,” said Schabacker in an interview. “And that's really what's going on in Erie. This is Exhibit A of how the gas industry has cavelierly expanded into residential areas against the wishes of local governments and regular Coloradans.”

“And so we're drawing a line in the sand [on this one]…and that's really what this fight is all about,” he continued. “It's mothers' standing up to protect their children in their community.”

If this seems like deja vu, it should.

Not only have communities around the United States been fighting back against the gas industry's proposals to frack in the areas surrounding schoolyards and universities, but similar battles have also been waged by activists against the coal industry in the recent past, as well.

Like the battle in Erie of today, the battle in Naoma involved, as Schabacker put it in his interview, “mothers' standing up to protect their children in their community.” Ted Nace, Director of Coalswarm, a project on the Center for Media and Democracy's Sourcewatch project and author of the book Climate Hope: On the Front Lines of the Fight Against Coal, told DeSmogBlog in an interview that it is these types of battles that win the hearts and minds of regular everyday people.

“Movements need rallying points and a movement needs to have cases of high visibility local impact,” said Nace.

“Those people who think about building movements should keep their eyes open to such cases. People at the local level are also looking to get visibility for their community. And I do think one of the big dimensions of environmental activism is finding stories that resonate for people. It's a lot easier for people to comprehend a story that involves other peoples' families than it is to understand a story about some unpronouncable chemical.”

Previous Comments

If AGW is such a threat, isn’t it worth it to make some environmental tradeoffs? Do we want to stop clean burning natural gas, which is surely replacing higher carbon belching coal plants, because some chemicals might spill off a truck?

Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.

There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.